That's a joke by the way.Regardless, I'm sure the ultra-conservative will love having this new "ammunition" in their arsenal. Still they will fail to see that such violent outbursts are NOT the result of the games themselves. The game is but a catalyst. That kid probably would have stabbed his father or someone else at some point, anyway. He probably already had a violent tendency, and you can't blame the catalyst for setting off a violent person. No one would blame a movie or a TV show like that.

I don't get this at all... I guess the Canuck in me will never understand how people can get so pants-pissingly wound up over a sport that's just a little less boring than cricket. And a videogame version of it to boot? I mean, I could understand fisticuffs over NHL 09, but FIFA 09?

ok, footie fans, settle down... I kid... extreme fans of any sport (including hockey) are one of life's great unfathomable absurdities.

Anyway, I suppose in this case the parents are somewhat to blame - either they were too soft while bringing up Mario, or they had abused their son to the point where the father's advice (sarcastic or sincere? the article doesn't say) and switching off the TV was the last straw. Who knows, maybe dad had it coming to him.

Granted the kid has issues but we're hearing only one side of the story and one glazed over by media at that. The father possibly could have insulted the kid, criticised him that rather than play the game he should be outside playing the game in real life, disappointment to the family, etc. etc. etc. Kid's still a bloody psycho.

SonicKoala:What a little asshole. My reasoning for that comment? This is just going to give the anti-video game lobby more fodder they can use to push this idea that video games have a negative impact on the people who play them. They'll never take into account the fact that this kid is clearly batshit insane.

God forbid someone do something without thinking of the political consequences. As much as you hate it, the kid's part of the gaming community. He represents it just as much as the average CoD4 ten year old.

What have you done to portray gamers in a favorable light lately? Nothing? Imagine that.

I actually haven't stabbed a SINGLE person today - Furthermore, I went to university earlier, and then came home and made myself a sandwich; all of these things make me out to be a completely normal individual, therefore helping to improve the image of gamers everywhere! And no, this kid who stabbed his father does not represent the gaming community - he may be a gamer, but he is by no means a representation of the overwhelming majority of people who play video games; you know, that large mass of people who DON'T stab their fathers in the throat.

Seconded, look up "Bell curve" on google it's a good description of gaming culture.

five bucks say Thompson or Atkinson will blame this on GTA or some other game, one that isn't about FREAKIN SOCCER. but this is sad. why have there been so many stabbing related to sport games in the last few weeks. first tony hawk ride, and now this. if Atkinson says games where 100% responsible, I will stab him.

Well a case like this is of course going to be popularized due to the anti-video game crusade by politicians and affiliated media. The article however is of course missing a number of key details such as what specifically was said in that arguement, whether there was any kind of ongoing conflict between father and son, and other assorted details.

I have a hard time thinking the video game was the cause, as much as the final straw that set things off. However the media has a vested interest in presenting things otherwise at the moment.

That said this is a horrifying case, and one has to assume either the kid is horribly broken, or that family relationship is.

Simply put stuff like this makes me look at some of the claims about how people blamed Rock Music for crimes and even seemed to use it as an excuse to get off for things later, back when it was the major "boogie man" instead of games.

That's a joke by the way.Regardless, I'm sure the ultra-conservative will love having this new "ammunition" in their arsenal. Still they will fail to see that such violent outbursts are NOT the result of the games themselves. The game is but a catalyst. That kid probably would have stabbed his father or someone else at some point, anyway. He probably already had a violent tendency, and you can't blame the catalyst for setting off a violent person. No one would blame a movie or a TV show like that.

Actually music, TV, movies, books, and comics have all had their turn being blamed for stuff like this.

The issue crosses "party" and political lines right now, at least in the US, because it's a scapegoat issue that makes a wonderful decoy to avoid having to deal with the bigger issues at play.

Those in favor of this kind of thing TEND to be those who favor strong, centralized goverment. The scapegoat being valuable in the long run if it can lead to precedents for more goverment power over free speech. In the US while conservatives are involved, it's mostly the liberals/democrats who are leading the charge. Hillary Clinton (former presidential cantidate, who currently holds a cabinet position) was pretty much the face of the whole "Hot Coffee" attack. Our current president is also attacking on other fronts where while he has yet to address sex or violence he tries to make a health issue out of it (from what I've seen so far). It's very much a multi-pronged attack. The whole "video game war" is mostly about it serving bigger agendas, than the games themselves.

Consider that Atkinson's actions for example ultimatly give the goverment (and him) a lot of power over deciding what kind of information people can have. He relents on the rating and a lot of goverment control slips through it's fingers, and certain jobs/positions become less powerful as a result.

Also from a purely pragmatic perspective, I'd be VERY surprised if it hasn't occured to a long time politico like him that once the issue dies down and isn't in the spotlight anymore, he and his allies could then accept bribes to let games slip through the ratings net. "Want to release that violent game? Well we'll let it through if you give me a million bucks under the table, and we'll make noise and pretend we missed it, which will help you generate hype, while doing very little to actually stop it due to the sheer number of units you'll ship in immediatly..."

Falseprophet:Well, calcio (soccer) is pretty much religion in Italy. And while soccer's not really a violent sport, it is the most histrionic, full of drama-queen prima donnas, so it's probably a cry for attention. Read the plot of some Italian operas for context (I recommend Tosca and Rigoletto).

/2nd generation Italian-Canadian

You mean kinda like how football is a religion in Texas? Seriously, we have the day off after the superbowl so we wouldn't go to work with a hangover. Haha... I love this place.

OT: Oooookay... Wierd. They say "Violent videogames are corrupting our youth". Well guess what, IT'S THEIR MENTALITY! YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK! Jesu 'ma Christ! Not only that but, the kid walked in with a knife, and the father must've been standing still if his son was able to stab him in the neck! Where did everyone's common sence go?